As I've said I don't view HS as a full day event, at least not for us. Since we visited this park on arrival day we've decided to plan for the morning only. So to begin our day we've decided to schedule breakfast at our base camp at the Whispering Canyon Cafe for 7am. The early hour is done for one reason, our need get to the park for rope drop. Oh yeah there is another reason?
The trek to Hollywood Studio's
Now what I am about to explain is a bit more detailed than I usually attempt this early in the process but we did it anyway............ So we need to get to the park and the bus just seems so boring. So once breakfast is finished what we'll do is (Leg 1) hop on a boat to the Contemporary Resort. Once we get to the CR it's off (Leg 2) to the Monorail for a quick ride to the Transportation and Ticket Center. When we arrive at the TTC it's a transitional walk to get to our next ride (Leg 3) the Monorail to Epcot. This portion of our journey is the longest portion of the trip and a chance to relax. Upon arrival at Epcot the plan is to (Leg 4)"walk" through the park to the International Gateway and the WDW Water Transportation port. This will be the most time consuming portion of our journey. From here we board a boat for the final leg of the journey (Leg 5) the leisurely ride to HS via Crescent Lake. This final leg of the journey should be the most picturesque......, floating by the Boardwalk on the left, the Yacht and Beach club on the right.........The Swan and the Dolphin.........then under a highway and up to Hollywood Studio's!!
Of course just taking the bus would be faster..........but not nearly as much fun!
FastPass+ don't fail me now.............
During this portion of planning we've targeted 2 rides that we "must" do, "ToyStory Mania" and "Tower of Terror". The plan is to use 2 of our 3 FP+ assignments for those rides............if we can? At this early stage in planning there is still quite a bit up in the air about FP+. So for now we'll target these two rides for Day 3. Again leaving things a bit open will allow us to modify the plan with what we do on Day 1 at HS. Our goal is to ride all 3 main rides at Hollywood Studios (this includes the Rock and Rollercoaster). That's pretty much all that's written down for the park at this time. It's not a lot and gives us a ton of open time for other rides, shows, and shopping.
Some many eclectic choices for lunch
Our plan includes "lunch" at HS around the 12:30 timeframe. In picking a place to have lunch we've come across a truly eclectic group. There's the "50's Prime Time Cafe", the "ABC Commissary", "Hollywood & Vine", and the "Sci-Fi Dine in Theater". At this point I'm not sure we've got this meal set in stone. We've written down the "Sci-Fi Dine in Theater" for now. But the 50's Prime Time Cafe is also in the mix.
Here's where I use the Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) system to my advantage. Unless something changes over the next 38 days (time until I can make ADR's) I'll make this lunch reservation for the Sci-Fi......but if we decide we want something different I'll have plenty of time to cancel this reservation and make a new one. The only risk is losing the original 12:30 time. On this day, in this park, with this plan..........that's a chance I'm willing to take.
This is a big planning tip for me...........don't hesitate to use the ADR system to change things around if you change your mind. You need to keep in mind that "table service" restaurants at WDW now require a credit card to make the reservation but they just use it to identify you in case you don't show up or cancel within 24 hours. In planning our May 2013 trip I changed ADR's multiple times.......too many to count to get the restaurant and time I wanted to fit our plans.
Lunch is done and it's another "Pool/Rest" afternoon back at the Lodge
So lunch is done...........our plan now calls for us to return to the Wilderness Lodge for another afternoon at the pool or light play. No adventure planned for our return to the WL...........just board a bus and return to the resort.............boring I know but it's been a long morning!
There's several reasons we've planned a second day in row as a rest day. (1) We're hoping to enjoy some of the amenities the Wilderness Lodge has to offer. I'm looking to take a boat out on the 7 Seas Lagoon. (2) Because we're a bit older and we know our bodies this is our way of being smart so we're able to keep up the busy pace we all face at WDW, (3) Not to sound like a broken record but.............HS is just a half day park (at this time......I expect the Star Wars franchise to change that very soon)
As always we need to keep in mind that the weather will impact what we're able to do during this time. It could be nap time at the room or another afternoon at Downtown Disney.......bottom lines there's flexibility there.
Ending the day as an adult and a child all in one!
Now that our rest period has ended its time for our evening events. Our plan on this evening is an "elegant dinner" ( the adult) and "fireworks" (the child).
To accomplish this duo of events we're planning a 7:30pm dinner ADR at the "California Grill" in the Contemporary Resort. This restaurant has recently been renovated and while I'm hearing both good and bad reviews we've never let that stop us from trying a new place. Again we heard mostly poor reviews on "The Wave" also in the CR. When we went the food was great and we really enjoyed ourselves. So given that experience..... the "California Grill" is our dinner destination.
This location also folds into the "fireworks" portion of our evening. There is an observation deck location high atop the Contemporary where you can view the Magic Kingdom evening fireworks display (here's a link to get more info about this stuff https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/contemporary-resort/california-grill/). The fireworks can also be viewed from the California Grill Lounge too. In fact if you have a window seat at dinner at the C-Grill you could watch the fireworks while eating your dinner.
Our hope is to be able to watch the fireworks from our table with a glass of wine..........not a guarantee but let's see what we can do...........Pretty cool huh!!!!
Well that's the end of Day 3.............
Next up is the most anticipated day or our trip EPCOT DAY!!!!